Exercise During Pregnancy

Exercise During Pregnancy

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Exercise is helpful during pregnancy to maintain good circulation, aid constipation and relieve insomnia, among other benefits. However, if you experience certain complications during your pregnancy, if you are expecting twins or if you have high blood pressure or an incompetent cervix, you probably would benefit from little or no exercise. That said, walking is an excellent exercise for pregnant women, and yoga is becoming popular. When exercising, drink lots of water and wear good shoes and a support bra. If you experience shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness or extreme fatigue, stop exercising and notify your obstetrician. Follow these additional tips:

Exercise for shorter periods of time, and rest frequently

Avoid impact exercise, such as running or aerobics

Switch out weight-bearing exercise (such as weight machines) in favr of non-weight-bearing exercise (such as bicycling or swimming)

Exercise is an important part of a healthy pregnancy for most mothers. While some women may be advised to limit their physical activity during pregnancy, most women should get a moderate amount of exercise—about 30 minutes a day. As a general rule, you can continue your pre-pregnancy level of exercise throughout your pregnancy, and even begin a new workout if your doctor agrees that it is safe for you. However, certain exercises and sports, such as downhill skiing, water skiing, contact sports, and scuba diving, should be avoided. Also, you need to be aware that changes in the distribution of your weight may affect your balance, so take care to avoid falling when exercising. If you have unusual problems like vaginal bleeding or fluid leakage, dizziness, chest pains, calf pain or swelling, headache, or other symptoms during exercise, stop right away and call your healthcare provider.

Babies born to moms who exercise during pregnancy are more likely to be active themselves. Moms who want to give their newborns a running start in life should keep their gym memberships active well into their pregnancy. A study found that children born to mothers who exercised during pregnancy are much more likely to stay active long after leaving the womb. While the study was with mice, the researchers note that their results dovetail with other studies that have found similar results.

The offspring of active moms were 50% more likely to exercise than those born from sedentary mothers. The controls in the mice study make these results more applicable to human subjects. The researchers studied genetically identical mice and carefully controlled the amount of physical activity of the mothers before pregnancy.

The bottom line is, if you’re pregnant, speak to your doctor about engaging in an appropriate exercise routine. You just may be giving your baby a valuable life advantage.

The Crib Time exercise will strengthen your back and arms. Stand in a partial lunge with the left foot in front. Lean forward slightly at the hips. Rotate your torso barely to the left, so that your right shoulder is a little in front of the left and let your arms hang straight down from your shoulders with the palms facing each other. Use a rowing motion to pull your elbows back and lift light weights (2 lbs) to the side of your ribcage 10x. Repeat with the right leg in front and left shoulder forward. Keep the natural arch in your lower back throughout the exercise.Advanced: Do a full lunge as you lower the weights and come up as you row back.

To help counteract all the sagging that's going on in your pelvic floor, you want to practice Kegel exercises. First, find the muscles you would use to stop urine flow. Now, squeeze and hold for 5 seconds, then release for 5 seconds. Do 10 repetitions three times a day. The beauty of Kegels is that nobody needs to know that you're doing them. The exercises will not only help strengthen muscles to help combat pregnancy-related urinary leakage, but will also help tighten the entire structure for lifelong pelvic health.

Yes, there are a lot of great stretches. One is the LADY BUG REACH. While standing, place your fingers on you shoulders and raise your elbows to your sides, shoulder height. As you inhale, reach out with one arm, making an arc with your hand. Follow the moving hand with your gaze. Focus on opening your chest. Exhale and bring your fingers back to the top of your shoulder. Alternate sides, five times each arm. Check out our YOU: HAVING A BABY DVD it has lots of stretches for each trimester.

You should exercise at a moderate level of intensity. So try to remain at a level 7, on a 1-10 scale with 10 being the hardest. NEVER workout to exhaustion. You should be able to say a complete sentence clearly. If someone were only listening to you, they would not be able to tell you were exercising.

Baby-Go-Rounds: They are a simple but an ideal way of opening your hips and back. With your feet shoulder width apart and weighted hands on your waist, rotate your hips in a circular motion 5x each direction. Concentrate on elongating your spine and pulling the top of your head as far as you can away from your tailbone. This is great to get in the habit of doing a couple of days a week.